


Gravity

by PunishedPyotr



Category: Metal Gear
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Introspection, M/M, Past Rape/Non-con, Possessiveness, Rambling, reupload
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-03-16 11:31:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13635411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PunishedPyotr/pseuds/PunishedPyotr
Summary: /ˈɡravədē/nounThe natural phenomenon by which all things with mass are brought toward one another, including planets, stars and galaxies.





	Gravity

It was pointless to wonder if Psycho Mantis was in love with Liquid Snake, or if it only worked the other way around. Even Mantis himself never thought about it. Sure he knew that Liquid was in love with him, and had been since he was approximately twelve, and he knew he’d do anything to make him happy - so, functionally, even if he weren’t technically in love with him it was exactly the same as if he were.

Sex was a chore.

No matter how many times they did it, Mantis was always put off and although his body reacted almost without his leave to do so, he didn’t particularly enjoy it. It was just something he did because Liquid had a ridiculous libido and while they’d once broached the subject of Liquid just sleeping with other people to satisfy his sex drive, Mantis had flatly refused.

“You are _mine_ ,” he said, running his hands through Liquid’s hair as the latter laid with his head in his lap, looking up at him. “You belong to _me_ and I do not like to share.”

“But-“ Liquid started.

“No. I do not trust anyone else with you. Only _I_ know how to handle you and your moods. Anyone else - suppose they hurt you, or took advantage of you, or played with your feelings…”

So he’d decided to take care of Liquid’s needs himself. It was a chore. He always felt sticky and gross afterwards, both physically and mentally, and it exhausted him, too. Mostly because, while he’d (to his chagrinned resignation) gotten very good at giving handjobs, that wasn’t really enough for Liquid. Everyone knew he craved attention, those close to him knew he craved affection, and Mantis knew he craved _intimacy._

Liquid kissed his throat and Mantis liked it but hated the fact that he liked it. Sometimes he wished that Liquid didn’t bother coaxing any pleasure out of him at all - but of course, Liquid couldn’t really enjoy himself unless he tried to do that, especially since he viewed even Mantis’ breath hitching as a sign that he was doing well. And he _loved_ to hear that he was doing well.

“Good boy,” Mantis murmured, the filter of his gas mask pressed up against Liquid’s ear.

Even if Mantis was of two minds - or rather, of mind and body separate - about the sex itself, it was undeniable that he appreciated Liquid’s affection towards him. It was almost funny. He didn’t really feel like he deserved it.

Perhaps Liquid falling in love with him was only inevitable, and it didn’t mean anything. Just the natural result of their symbiosis, no more special than than the phases of the moon, than the rise of the sun, than the pull of the tides.

But it was a _force_.

Liquid ground his ass against Mantis’ crotch and when Mantis was helpless but to push up into the friction Liquid grinned. The grin reminded Mantis why he even did this and he sighed, tilting his head back, and he felt Liquid’s hands on his chest and then his lips on his jaw.

“Eli…”

There were lines that Mantis wasn’t allowed to cross. Lines that Liquid drew because of lingering trauma from his time as a POW, and that was exactly why Mantis didn’t trust anyone else with Liquid. Even Mantis himself couldn’t help but cross a line occasionally, sometimes because his mind got so clouded that he forgot to be careful, sometimes because Liquid liked to play so close to the edge that an unintentional jerk of Mantis’ hips could send him over it.

Mantis’ dick hit the back of Liquid’s throat and he quickly pulled himself off of it, coughing violently almost to the point of tears in his eyes, his mood dropping like a millstone around his neck.

“I- am sorry,” Mantis said, reaching out to take Liquid’s cheek in his hand as Liquid wiped his mouth with the back of a trembling hand. He flinched when Mantis touched him. “I did not mean to… startle you.”

“It’s fine,” Liquid said hoarsely, leaning his head against Mantis’ palm. He hated the fact that he had to limit himself like this - that he couldn’t swallow Mantis’ cock like he wanted to, that they couldn’t get even a little adventurous because Liquid couldn’t stand restraining or too much teasing or anything that introduced pain into the equation. His body reacted well enough to mixing pain and sex, but it did bad things to his mind.

“There is nothing wrong with being vanilla,” Mantis told him.

“I know,” Liquid said, closing his eyes. His chest felt tight and he was sort of dizzy. “I only wish I didn’t _have_ this… _problem_ in the first place.”

Mantis was just glad that all those who had dared to hurt Liquid like this, to even have the audacity to _touch_ him, were already dead. “Don’t force yourself, Eli.”

Liquid said the same thing to him, sometimes. “Don’t force yourself.” He wasn’t oblivious; he knew that Mantis didn’t especially enjoy having sex and really only did it to sate him, and sometimes he fretted about that.

Mantis shook his head and told him it was fine.

“What are you?” he said.

“I, ah,” Liquid panted, “I’m d-disgusting… I’m a whore…”

“Keep going.”

“I’m, I’m a slut… a deviant, a-a pervert… and I’m s-selfish for asking y-you to do this…”

“Mmm.” Mantis nuzzled his neck, feeling his breath hot and heavy on his ear.

“I-I’m not- I’m not g-good enough for you.”

Mantis pulled his hair, tilting his head back, sharply enough that Liquid winced. “Wrong,” he said simply.

“W-What? What did I…”

With his other hand, Mantis traced the straight, hard line of his spine, and it arched beneath his fingers. “You said you weren’t good enough for me.”

“But you…”

“That’s not true, Eli. I need you, you know I need you.” _If anything,_ I _am the one who is not good enough for_ you, he thought, and he knew Liquid heard it.

“M-Mantis—”

“Hush.” He pressed his face against Liquid’s throat and in another life, one where he didn’t have to wear this mask, he would have kissed it. He felt the movement of pulse transmuted through plastic. “Eli. Whose are you?”

“I’m y-yours.” The response, although out-of-breath, was immediate. “Yours and n-no one else’s.”

“Good,” Mantis whispered, “very good.”

When Liquid kissed him it was a like an invisible stamp on Mantis’ skin proclaiming that he belonged solely to Liquid. Mantis could still feel it, afterwards, when the heat had cooled and they went about their day like anyone else and Liquid no longer responded to the name “Eli”. He supposed that if he ever met another psychic, they’d be able to see whose territory he was marked as.

He didn’t mind.

For as long as he could remember Mantis had belonged to someone in some way or another, but he’d been with Liquid the longest and Liquid was the only one who ever belonged to him in turn.

Liquid liked to remind him of that, and he liked to _be_ reminded of that.

Perhaps it was simple insecurity, or just his way of coping with having been taken against his will in the past. Perhaps both. Whatever the reason, Liquid could never really make it through an entire week without developing a desperation for Mantis to claim him anew.

It was _tiring._

It was tiring and Mantis always got annoyed when Liquid started thinking about it in the middle of the day. One afternoon he’d fucked him on the desk in his office with the door unlocked, just because he was petty like that, and Liquid - although at no point did he want Mantis to _stop_ \- was absolutely _mortified_ at the prospect of someone walking in on them and was a little better behaved after that. (Mantis would have locked the door from across the room if he’d sensed anyone coming, of course… but he didn’t tell Liquid that.)

Mantis swatted his hand away from where Liquid was fingering his own ass. “You are being too rough with yourself,” he told him.

Liquid whined. “But it’ll hurt if I don’t-“

“It will hurt either way with how you’re doing it,” Mantis said, placing two fingers on Liquid’s bottom lip. “I will prepare you. Get them nice and wet.”

He opened his mouth without hesitation, taking Mantis’ fingers in and sucking on them, pressing his tongue against and between them. He gazed up at Mantis as he did so, the color high in his cheeks - it was such a devoted, vulnerable expression, and Mantis reaffirmed his resolve to ensure that he was the _only_ one who ever got to see that kind of look on Liquid’s face.

Once his fingers were sufficiently slicked with saliva, Mantis pulled them out and quickly, before they dried, found Liquid’s asshole and slipped them in, being careful not to shove. Liquid shivered, making a breathy, appreciative noise in his throat, and leaned against Mantis. He moaned, shifting back and forth on Mantis’ hand as the latter stretched him. He was gentle with him. They were gentle with each other. Mantis was physically frail and Liquid’s mind was the sort that easily knotted into almost irrational anger and misery; the least they could do was accommodate one another.

Liquid kissed Mantis’ neck and the side of his face, whatever wasn’t covered by the mask, and Mantis pulled his fingers out and Liquid pushed him back onto the bed, still kissing him. Mantis sighed gratefully. As submissive as Liquid could often be, and as much as Mantis got a bit of a power trip from dealing with him once he got worked into that state, he still preferred it when Liquid was taking the lead - or at least doing most of the work.

Sex wore him out and for the past fifteen minutes or so since Liquid had managed to give him an erection he’d been sweating and breathing hard, neither of which was particularly pleasant in a sealed gas mask. His breath rasped loudly through the filter as Liquid coated Mantis’ dick in lube, and Mantis shut his eyes and scrabbled at the sheets - it was _cold_ \- then Liquid lowered himself down on his cock, careful not to put his full weight on him, and Mantis gasped again at the heat and squeezing pressure.

“Mantis,” Liquid groaned, “I-I love you.”

“I know, Eli,” Mantis panted, moving his hands to his hips and shakily thrusting up into him, “I know.”

Liquid hated using condoms and loved Mantis finishing inside him, especially if they made love in the morning, before really getting up for the day. Out of everything about their whole arrangement, this was what Mantis found the most objectionable: Liquid liked the feeling of Mantis’ semen in his ass during the day, and as lowly and base as everything _else_ was, this was downright _bestial_. He liked it because it made him feel _claimed_.

They’d never really tried to conceal their relationship from the rest of FOXHOUND, although it wasn’t openly discussed; it would have been impossible to hide anyway, considering Mantis consistently slept in Liquid’s quarters. And, much to Mantis’ irritation, everyone knew just what they had been up to on those mornings when Mantis was tired and grouchier than usual while Liquid was in a _very_ good mood for once.

Mantis would have just died of embarrassment if anyone ever noticed the way Liquid would subtly shift his weight and hum to himself, those mornings.

 _Disgusting_ , he thought.

In spite of all that and everything else, Mantis liked their relationship overall, and there were many things he enjoyed in particular, like the way Liquid held him when he slept. Mantis himself didn’t really sleep, all things being equal - just when he was physically exhausted - so some nights he slept, too, but most nights he just stayed awake in Liquid’s arms. He’d stare at the wall and appreciate how warm and close Liquid was, often not really thinking about anything else.

It was… nice.

He could hear the steady beat of Liquid’s heart where his ear rested against his chest, steady as the slow whirl of stars in the sky, and Mantis rose and fell with the unhurried motion of Liquid’s breathing. The night stretched forth like a dream and Mantis would vaguely wish neither of them would ever have to wake up from it.

They both were unnatural creatures but when Liquid held Mantis and murmured senseless things in his sleep, Mantis felt almost like he’d _found_ his place in the natural order of things, and it felt _right_. Right here, with their legs tangled together, and Liquid’s hands reposing on his back and shoulder…

But the rise of the sun was inevitable. Plus they usually woke up before that, depending on the season, anyway. And every so often Liquid would wake up even before _that_ time came.

Usually when that happened it was because he’d had a nightmare about his time in Iraq. He didn’t want to admit that it actually affected him - although it did - but nonetheless he held Mantis a little tighter, his mind twisting in on itself and his breathing just a bit uneven.

Mantis reached up and ran one hand through Liquid’s hair. “Where are you right now, Eli?”

“…with you.”

That was the only answer he could give and a good enough answer for both of them. Mantis knew what Liquid wanted now - not that Liquid was really thinking about it on a conscious level - and propped himself up on his elbows, taking Liquid’s face in his hands and whispering to him, “You are so strong.”

Liquid stared at him tiredly; his head was sort of spinning and there was a foul taste in his mouth. “Hm.”

“And brave, too. You made those bastards pay for what they did back then, didn’t you?”

Liquid swallowed before answering. “Yes.” They’d had this exact conversation dozens, maybe even hundreds of times in the intervening years.

“You did well - very well, Eli. I am proud of you.”

What Liquid wanted now was reassurance and affection and, being a very physical person, he wanted that affection expressed in a physical way. When Liquid got in one of these moods, Mantis didn’t mind doing it like that. And besides, he was very docile like this. Never demanding, and his desperation was a much simpler kind.

“Sit up, come here… good boy.”

Liquid sat in Mantis’ bony lap, facing him, and Mantis had to use his psychic powers to lift him up just slightly so that his legs wouldn’t fall asleep. He brushed a few strands of hair out of Liquid’s face. “Eli, do you love me?”

He nodded.

“Do trust me?”

Again, a nod.

“Do you feel safe with me?”

He nodded a third time then buried his head in Mantis’ shoulder, arms wrapped loosely around his waist. Often Mantis was the one point of stability in his otherwise unstable life, and even now Mantis felt a bitter pang that there had ever been a time where they’d parted ways. That Mantis had ever been stupid enough to think that he didn’t need Liquid anymore.

But they’d found their way back to each other in the end. Their bond was a powerful attracting force, no less inexorable and no more explicable than gravity itself.

“Mantis…”

(Liquid had been the one who had given him that name.)

“Shh. You do not need to speak. Just breathe.”

He ran his hands over Liquid’s body and Liquid bit his lip, making a small, plaintive sound. Mantis murmured praises into his ear - “Good boy, good, just like that — I am lucky to have you.” - and Liquid rocked back and forth, rubbing himself against Mantis and moaning softly, and sticky, brassy warmth pooled in Mantis’ stomach.

It was almost intoxicating for Mantis to read Liquid’s mind and find only thoughts of himself there.

“Do you feel me, Eli?” he said as he hit Liquid’s prostate with his cock.

Liquid whimpered as he nodded. “Y-Yes.”

“How… does it feel?”

“G-Good…”

Mantis nuzzled him, clinging to his shoulders. “Mm. You- you feel good too, Eli.”

It would be a little while before Liquid shook off the fog in his brain but it was easy to tell when that happened - pleading whines would build up into immodest groans, and he’d start impaling himself on Mantis’ dick with more heat and passion. He pressed his mouth against Mantis’ neck and shoulders, pushing himself closer, as close as he could, like he was determined to occupy the same physical space as Mantis.

“You t-take such good care of m-me, Mantis,” he gasped.

“What else am I good for...?” Mantis asked, tilting his head to the side, inviting more kisses.

“H-Ha, everything, maybe?” Liquid said, cracking a languid smile. “I love you…”

What a silly thing love was.

Mantis wore a cockring to delay orgasm and try to put him on somewhat even footing with Liquid. Of course, the end result was that Liquid usually ended up finishing before he did, and either way once Mantis ejaculated it actually took quite a while for his erection to subside. Liquid would keep going, long after his climax, intentionally overstimulating himself, while Mantis just felt numb.

When Mantis finally went soft Liquid pulled himself off and collapsed sideways onto the bed next to him, still shaking and breathing hard. Mantis tiredly ran his hand over Liquid’s side and Liquid whined, his skin burning and oversensitive.

“You did that to yourself, you know,” Mantis said.

“I know,” Liquid said once he’d mostly caught his breath. “Get over here. I want to kiss you, and I don’t feel like sitting up.”

Mantis never really thought about if he was technically in love with Liquid or not but he did often think about how he wasn’t sure if Liquid technically needed him. Certainly he didn’t need Mantis the way Mantis needed _him_ ; Mantis may have been Liquid’s most valuable - and _valued_ , almost too much - ally, but Mantis _needed_ Liquid as a flame needed oxygen. Life, no, not life, mere _existence_ without him was dull, colorless, and he drifted through it like an empty ship lost at sea with no land in sight.

He didn’t think about why this was, of course. Why should he?

The planets didn’t think about why they orbited the sun.

“I love you, Mantis,” Liquid said softly, tucking him away against his body, kissing the top of his head.

And Mantis drew himself a little closer.

**Author's Note:**

> (any and all comments will be forewarded to aireyv! i will either copy/paste their reply to me or they will reply on their own account! have a nice day!!! if you have any questions, just ask!!!!)


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